If they were the good guys, they wouldn't need to operate in the background.

Quoting: yankees

the Illuminati are in the foreground, it is the majority that are in the background. Noble cause is the Mason, and if the Illuminati are real, they are of noble cause, that is my take on things the way I see them. it is the lost of humanity (flesh) who are the scum of the earth, my ass included. I am not the body, I am a sentient spirit of life.

They have knowledge which can not be revealed to those who are not ready for it. Thus they have the right for secrecy.